Be my Valentine, Bleah

Happy VD y'all. I hope that you get the Valentine that you deserve.  I am not particularly keen on 
VD   Hallmark sentimentality  ("mental" being the operative)  but there are flowers in the sink which I will distribute to the neighbor girls and the Grannie kids along with chocolate hearts. 

Go in peace and beware of the chubby naked baby with arrows- she will only get you into trouble.  Arrows sting and then your heart enbiggens and your brain turns to mush. Fair warning. 

 

 

Abe birthday, family tree, valentine and blooms

 

Today is "cousin" Abe's Birthday. Of course descendants of Abe are plentiful , some are famous- Tom Hanks and George Clooney to mention only the most recent known  cousins- all connected through Abe's GGG grandfather, John Hanks from Gloucester England 1470, and Abe's  Mother, Nancy.

  A little family history goes a long way even though we are all related somewhere down the line, it is kind of groovy to have Abe over there on the right of our family. The "tree" is basic as you can see- Stops at Abe , not including his offspring and theirs.  Our grandfathers names  are to the left of ABE.  All "Hanks" with a few Swede and Norwegian interlopers thrown in. 

Stella and I went out for lunch, Sunshine , cocktails and cheese cake- I had oysters and she had crab/shrimp on toast.

Cherries for February/president's day, George and the myth. The hellebore are blooming by the entrance.

A good nosh, great conversation. The place was fairly empty so we could hear one another- a first!  The restaurant is cavernous - the kitchen and cooks exposed so when there are more than two people in there it is deafening. Poor design! Anyway the food was pretty great, the G&T  - a thimble full of gin over a mountain of fast melting ice does not a good drink make. That is the way  up here in the Ham- has always been skimpy , sad and  pricey. 

Stella made a Valentine for me-

I made one for her- an old cigar box- I cut the lid off, cut it in half , reassembled it  it to make a sort of shrine for small things. Her mice can use the small things if they want to. I did not fast glue them into the little shelves.

SISU for our little Finn. Brave and hearty!

So Happy Birthday. Happy valentine, happy oyster lunch. Today looks promising weather wise. I will take my Subaru on an adventure!

The painting that my friend did and that Dennis bought for my Birthday one year- Abe ,with the palm reader  saying (around the outside)- "Before you leave this earth, you will free the slaves, you will free the slaves, you will free the slaves."  
 

Ongoing but Abe was a start. Racism seems to be part of human DNA. Latest  of course, Bad Bunny being  targeted by GOP asshole racists.  I am so looking forward to the day when we all  speak Spanish, French, Russian, Chinese, Arabic and there is no difference at all.  I won't live that long but maybe Flora will. 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

Million dollar card, Sweets from the tooth doctor, owl and Beanie

5"X5" 2D card.

" Thank you very much for adding a review, I am so pleased to know that you love the card! :) My apologies for the  high postage cost to the USA - this is currently the only service to the USA that my print studio offers (I have my cards printed to order remotely) since the change in tariffs from the UK to the USA came in last year. The service with DHL is very speedy & reliable and gets your order there without being stopped for any customs charges - it's like a delivered duties paid service. I will of course be changing this as soon as I have another option! My apologies, I hope you still get enjoyment from the card."

Do not  ETSY late at night- if you do,  check the small print closely - this card cost $44.27 in the end- the card itself was $5.00.  I know, I know- my bad,  my stupid, my blond,  I am just  here to warn y'all.

I took one  for the team!

Anyway, I will frame this card in some  thrift store frame and hang it on the wall somewhere , along with cautionary tale,  to make it seem that my costly eff-up  was  somewhat intentional.  

Dennis came home  from a dental dinner thing with promos from a periodontal guy. The doctor went out of his way  for everyone who attended- Two  fancy cupcakes, one chocolate  bar confection, fudge popcorn,  notebook with pen, and a t-shirt that fits Dennis perfectly. All of that sugar will guarantee business...The t-shirt will be added to the wash pile. Notebook and pen - appreciated. I realize that an endodontist does root canals but thought this cartoon appropriate at the moment.

 

Taken from computer screen , thus the wavy colored lines..This photo was also taken from computer:

 

A neighbor shot this from his back yard, Owl in tree in fog.  

 

Today Stella and I have a lunch date- We will likely go to the harbor in spite of it being  overly priced- the service is good and the food is adequate. We will exchange Valentines and have a G&T maybe...Lovely day for it! Sunshine , crisp freezing air.  She is a candidate for a hearing device, as is Kim. Dennis has two and still can not hear. I have quit talking to Dennis for that reason. When I am asked to repeat and repeat and increase volume to shouting, I get  Cranky, one might say, so I would just rather not speak. Actually that suits me, I am not a talker nor am I loud.  Silence is golden- I am rich !

 

Maddie sent shots of Beanie, the naughtiest little boy ever, but sooo adorable. He is more gold colored than the photos, he just had a hair cut and looks pinky.   

 

Flora Jane is also  golden , adding to our reserve. Her hair is becoming darker and her eyes are changing to be green. Beauty is her cross to bear. My heart hurts considering this time that she has been born into- is there hope on the horizon? Looks like  maybe a glimmer...Fake emperor's gold is tarnishing- as one might expect from dime store  paint. 
 Speaking of dime store - I bought a deviled egg platter from the dollar store to use as a pallet- It is perfect  as long  as  crispy plastic form  lasts.

I  do have glass pallets , they are  too small so this forbidden plastic hypocrisy has been  accepted . Dilemma, buying plastic- I hope it will last  without cracks  until  we are all dead and gone.

 

I have failed to live up to my own eco-friendly resolve. 

 

 

Leaving you with the golden child and  the LOVE post. See you in the sunshine!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

Pink february, milk dud poos and a good man.

Pink fog and purple haze this morning. Pinker than I have ever seen! When I first moved to the PNW I was taken by purple haze, thought it magical.  Much pinker on the sunny side of the sky. Now it is just ...weather.

The little plum is blossoming, how, without sunlight ,does it think this is OK? Things , February pink, the blossoms , the sky , the heather, nestled into  soft foggy fog, this morning's winter day. 

Deer have left stacks of polka dot poo sculptures on the lawn. Fancy leaving such adorable poos- humans can not do that! I love the way they stack up and form little art works for dog's  snacks . Like milk duds. 

Like large sized blackberries!

I did manage to get out and about for a few minutes- went to the thrift shop and bought a biscuit tin. I left the giraffe cats behind.

But really needed a  Sheffield biscuit tin so there it is.  Stopped  by the old lady charity shop , bought a valentine that Stella had made for them to sell. There was NOTHING else in the entire shop worthy. Their pricing is getting stupid. The intake of donations are predictably sad. Stella still works there in the vintage book dept. and does a very thorough job sorting the good from the better. She knows her stuff! It is the only section worth stopping in for. 

I will be buying digestives at the  Import  shop   to feed the tin. 

Flora gave me a valentine, a string of hearts as well as a cut out heart of melted crayon on paper, best  colors for a Valentine. Black and dark green. Plus ,not ONE but TWO, beautiful pony bead bracelets for me to wear when I am wanting to feel  especially cute! These will improve any outfit I may wear. 

Speaking of looking cute- My friend from Wyoming living in NYC just returned from  a trip on a whim, to Paris, where she went to museums of fashion. An early DIOR frock that looks edible. So cute, so sweet, wearing it would certainly result in the wearer getting diabetes.  My friend reckoned that it came from the imagination of a six year old girl with fancy princess ideas.  I LOVE It! 
 

We texted about our dads working for Union Pacific RR back in the day. How kind they were, how amazing they worked through blizzards and frozen metal, I remembered this:

 Dad was a conductor  on freight ,  was offered a better position on passenger  which he turned down like that was the craziest offer ever! Freight train was his jam. He bundled up our comic books and outgrown clothing  in twine and tossed them to the Mexican families eking out an existence in  one room shabby shacks and tin huts along the way to Green River. He leapt from the train outside of town and walked through blizzards  over Beacon hill to our tiny cement home .   He did that without his boots and gloves which he had given to a poor Mexican man living in a box along the way.

My folks, good people, I was a shite daughter , took a long time to grow up. Telling this in small letters because...shame?
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Too many photos, a day in the life, fancy pants parties

Kim and I , the Grannies, spent six hours with Flora and Emmett. It did take two of us to keep up with them, I don't know how Emily does it non stop every moment of every day. Aw Youth. Mother Power!

In the afternoon Kim stayed and tidied up the kitchen while Emmett went to get an X-ray. Flora and I took over the neighborhood. The street is  ocean where we feed whales, pebbles tossed from the  sidewalk shore, cars are boats , a rock  walkie talkie - we notify the coast guard that someone is in trouble in the deep. The coast guard taking  too long to respond - Flora turned me into a giant mother toad to swim out and save the people.  I did - they are saved and I remain a toad for the rest of the day.

We adventure around the block and down the alley- The temperature warms to 56 degrees. Flora removes her hat and shirt but not before this announcement on the stomping rock.

" There will be wedding  - a dance and I will wear a beautiful dress, I am pregnant and  is going to be more party, Saturday my  baby will be born,  at 6:00 and 40, the baby is a girl and the doctor will give me the baby,  I will  have another wedding  and another pretty dress,  and  a machine that blows spaghetti on all of the people - we will dance and sing and disco" (she meant confetti not spaghetti) 

The neighborhood is the most ideal place to be a child . Charming, earthy folk, reasonable , like neighborhoods from Norman Rockwell's head.  Flora reckons that the alley is the most fun- there are special things in an alley. I agree totally. Alleys are where we had the most fun as children back in the long ago. Alleys are real and messy , no pretense of appearance, treasures to be found.

 

Before Flora arrived back home from school , Kim and I took Emmett to the coffee shop and park as well as a walk through the  pleasant little streets. That child is growing so fast! 18months old already and getting around like a pro! Such a sweet boy he is! Pensive, affectionate and takes everything in stride,  he  knows all there is to know  about this life. 

those eyes-   sussed!

His Dad knitted this sweater as well as  Emmett's  blanket - Dad was in a knitting frenzy.  The man can do anything once his mind is on it, and he does so with skill and care. Truly a remarkable human.  We all benefited during the make bread- as -perfectly- as -possible  phase.

While in the coffee shop  Emmett thought it might be a good idea to crawl into the carrier pouch under the stroller. Once in , could not get out, but did he panic or cry, no he did not! Not a peep! It took both grannies to figure out the  physics of removal of child from compartment. He was patient . Again reckoning ' no big deal", as he does, though getting out was a lot like " baby's head is too big for this birth, we need a sharp cutting instrument and a crane!" The grannies managed without destroying the stroller or  injuring the child. 

There was no  talk about the fall of a nation, military dictatorship or the cost of groceries. We relished  the comfort of "normal" for six hours, how lovely the day!

 Daffodils and tulips in the market. Light in the sky. 

We might  be OK in our little bubble up here.  At least for a little while longer. Hearts break for these small humans and their bruised, iffy  future.  A whole new world for us all.  We will do it together, with all our might.  We will Disco!

You are all invited to Flora's wedding and baby party, bring a gift- save the date- Saturday, 6;00 and 40.  DISCO- wear your fancy pants !

 BTW, just wondering why the STEAL of the 2024 election has not been investigated...Kamala won... Kamala is our real president...GOP actually cheated if you can even imagine that, and oozed the orange slime ball into office.   Stop the steal, we say! Democrats need to take over all of the election posts with armed grannies. This administration is stolen and false and needs to be investigated, prosecuted, sent to the salt mines.  Thieves and evil doers!